About Victor Pontines
Victor Pontines is a research fellow at ADBI. He specializes in open-economy macroeconomics and international finance with particular reference to the East Asian region. Before joining ADBI, he was seconded by Bank Negara Malaysia as Senior Economist for The South East Asian Central Banks Research and Training Centre in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.Increased lending to SMEs aids financial stability
A key lesson of the 2008 global financial crisis (GFC) was the importance of containing systemic financial risk and maintaining financial stability. At the same time, developing economies are seeking to promote financial inclusion, such as greater access to financial services for low-income households and small firms, as part of their overall strategies for economic and financial development. This raises the question of whether financial stability and financial inclusion are, broadly speaking, substitutes or complements. In other words, does the move toward greater financial inclusion tend to increase or decrease financial stability?
Myanmar has much to learn from Viet Nam’s exchange rate reforms
Myanmar’s exchange rate reform is a fundamental change, but it is not unique. A striking parallel can be found in Viet Nam’s move in the late 1980s to unify its multiple exchange rates into a single rate and its corresponding announcement of exchange rate management through a managed float, just as Myanmar is doing now. The experience of Viet Nam in reforming its exchange rate system—both good and bad—offers valuable lessons for Myanmar. The aim of this piece is to try to draw out some of these lessons. The objective is not to recommend that Myanmar should uncritically follow the lessons from the Viet Nam experience, but that the country should adopt these lessons to its own circumstances.
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